Mizzou football linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez can replace Zion Young's energy and leadership in 2026.
COLUMBIA — Nobody brought energy to Mizzou football’s 2025 roster like Zion Young. From his viral SEC Media Days interview to his chaotic hot mic ahead of the overtime period against Auburn, he littered the season with unforgettable moments.
The team captain breathed life into his Tigers.
“Having that energy helps not only the defense, but the team in general,” former Missouri linebacker Josiah Trotter said of Young. “It's contagious. We have a guy like that, so, you know, we all enjoy it… just feeds that defense.”
Unfortunately for the Tigers’ death row defense, Young, along with many other seniors, have exhausted their eligibility and are no longer with the team. His on-field production was amazing, racking up 6.5 sacks, 42 tackles and two forced fumbles during his senior campaign, but his presence as a leader was invaluable.
Replacing leadership is just as — if not more — hard as replacing production.
So who is Eli Drinkwitz turning toward to keep the flame burning in the locker room? For starters, let’s look through which captains from the 2025 season are returning.
Former starting quarterback Beau Pribula transferred to Virginia, while Sam Horn is projected to head to the MLB. Young, Khalil Jacobs, Logan Muckey, Connor Tollison, Daylan Carnell and Jalen Catalon all exhausted their final seasons of eligibility, leaving just one remaining captain: Cayden Green.
Green led by example, starring in a newfound role as the starting left tackle in 2025, and was a steady presence at the position. Drinkwitz picked two more returners to join Green as captains for spring practice.
“Obviously, Caden Green's a returning captain, but Dom Guidice and Nick Rodriguez will be the offensive defensive captains, respectively, for their sides of the ball,” Drinkwitz said. “Those guys have been guys who have played at a high level for us, demonstrate an elite edge in the first floor and what they do. Demonstrate what it means to live by the core values that we have: always compete, respecting what's expected, and enjoy the journey while they've been here. So those guys are establishing, Hey, these are the standards that we have, these are the expectations of how you operate in this building at a high level. And they're doing a great job of making sure everybody meets those standards on a daily basis.”
Among those three, Rodriguez has been the quickest to stand out as an early leader. Flashes of his outgoing personality showed in 2025, even if it meant getting a little hot-headed during games. But that’s how Young was, to an extent.
Rodriguez can channel that explosive personality into being a contagious locker room leader, like he did in this clip below to open up Mizzou’s first spring practice.
Look forward to Rodriguez continuing to bring that energy once the season starts.